Midnight Vandalisms
by you are my elysium
Summary: "Oh, yes, James adores him. Dotes on him, even," Ginny smiled fondly at her two boys, somehow missing the evil eye that James had sent Albus a few mere seconds before. /Albus and James as they go through life together, fighting, tattle-tailing and hauling each other out of bed.


**So, this is actually not only my first time ever writing Albus, but also the first time I've written a fic about the ups and downs of sibling relationships :D, so I guess that what with my Lily/Scorpius fic and this one it's starting to become a week of breaking into new territory :P. But as a result of this, I don't know whether this idea has been used a lot or not... but I hope you guys enjoy it nevertheless :) and please tell me your thoughts on it and if there's anything I could improve etc. :).  
**

**Anyway, this is basically just a collection of snapshots of Albus and James's lives and how they deal with each other, and how the _way_ that they deal with each other changes over time. Sibling relationships have always kind of fascinated me because even though most siblings fight quite frequently (or, at least, most siblings that I know, me included), when it comes down to it they're there for you and they usually know how you feel as they've grown up with you and shared many different experiences with you. You get the idea :).**

**And, before anybody asks, Renee _is_ Professor Morrissey's daughter :P.**

* * *

"Oh look - he's smiling," Audrey cooed, gazing at the baby boy in Ginny's arms.

The two mothers were sitting on the sofa in the Potters' sitting room, alternating between making smalltalk, making baby-noises at Albus and watching James, Molly and Lucy building houses out of the wooden blocks that were strewn over the carpet for their entertainment.

Ginny laughed, shifting the baby slightly so that he was in a more comfortable position. "He only started doing that last week - Teddy was here and making faces at him and then Albus smiled and Teddy flipped out. He ran around the house yelling for us to come and see what he'd made Al do."

"Does James get on well with him?" Audrey asked, lowering her voice slightly. "I know that when Lucy came along Molly was insanely jealous for the first few months - she was so used to us giving her all the attention, bless her, that it didn't occur to her that Lucy'd need some, too."

"Oh, yes, James adores him. Dotes on him, even," Ginny smiled fondly at her two boys, somehow missing the evil eye that James had sent Albus a few mere seconds before. She leaned forward to pick up the cup of tea that was sitting on the coffee table, sipping it carefully so as to avoid spilling any on Albus.

"Really? Well, that's good - it means less trouble when they're growing up. I know that some sibling rivalries can get a little out of hand if they're not dealt with quickly," Audrey chatted idly, dipping a biscuit in her own tea.

"Mmm," Ginny nodded her agreement, memories of her childhood surfacing. "But I think these two will be fine."

**xXxXx**

"Gimme!"

"Nuh-uh, you've got to come and get it," James pranced away from his little brother's grasping hands. He was holding a toy broomstick above his head, wiggling it temptingly every so often just to ensure that Albus didn't forget who had the power here.

"I want it!" Albus's face scrunched up, his chubby hands flailing as he toddled towards the other boy. Unfortunately, his brother was not only taller but a lot faster than Albus, and so James merely danced off to another corner of the room, broomstick still held victoriously aloft.

"Give it!"

"Nope! Is that the best you can do?" James had stopped prancing around the room and instead allowed Albus to catch up to him. Even with his short arms waving around, Albus still couldn't quite reach the toy. So he did the next best thing.

"_Mama_!" he wailed, tears brimming his eyes pitifully, his messy black hair flopping around his face to add to the 'poor little thing' look.

On cue, Ginny's figure appeared in the doorway, Lily on her hip. Her eyes travelled from her bawling four-year-old son to her oh-bugger-I've-been-caught-

redhanded six-year-old, who still had the broomstick clutched in his hand.

"_James_! Give it back to him. Now," Ginny said firmly, eyes daring him to disobey.

"Fine," James muttered in his best sulky voice, handing the toy back to Albus, who was suddenly all smiles.

"Apologise," Ginny prompted, moving Lily to her other hip. The little girl stuck her thumb in her mouth, blinking owlishly at her feuding brothers.

"Sorry," the words weren't very sincere, but Ginny knew it was the best she was going to get.

"Okay, well, try not to get on each other's nerves?" she didn't wait for an answer before disappearing off into the other room, Lily gurgling away at her side.

"Tattle-tale," James stuck his tongue out at Albus sullenly.

Albus shrugged, beaming innocently up at his brother.  
**  
**

**xXxXx**

"Eat up, you've got a big day ahead of you," Harry smiled fondly at Albus, ruffling the boy's hair so that it was even messier than usual.

Albus returned his father's smile with a broad grin, raising a spoonful of cereal to his mouth and chewing hungrily. Down the other side of the table, James had scoffed his toast in record time and was busy sneaking bits of food to the family dog, Cabbie.

"It's not fair that you get to go to Hogwarts and I can't go for two years!" Lily wailed in between mouthfuls of chocolate-y cereal. She shoved her chair closer to the table, causing an ear-piercing squeak that resulted in James sending her a disapproving look.

"You'll get to go soon enough, Lily," her mother said comfortingly, placing her own bowl of porridge on the table. She sat herself down and glanced up at her younger son. "What House do you want to be in, Albus?"

"Gryffindor!" Albus said without hesitation, green eyes lighting up eagerly.

His parents merely smiled down at him, memories swirling around the air between them at his words. Lily shrugged, happy with his answer and devoted her full attention back to her food. Even Cabbie was content to let Albus's reply pass, trotting away from James's proffered sliver of ham and instead curling up at Albus's feet.

James, however, gazed intently at Albus, mischief in his eyes. "I think you might be in Slytherin."

Lily peered up at James with wide eyes, cereal forgotten, before gazing at Albus expectantly. "D'you think you'll be in Slytherin, Al?"

Albus was staring at James with a horrified expression. "I won't be in Slytherin! I _won't_!"

"_James_," Ginny sighed in exasperation, shooting the boy a dirty look. "Albus, you won't be in Slytherin - don't worry."

"He might be," James beamed innocently at his parents.

"No, I won't!" Albus protested, green eyes alarmingly wide. Cabbie lazily lifted his head and blinked up at the boy, licking his bare foot as though attempting to comfort him. "Oi! Cabbie! That tickles!"

Lily's eyes flickered back and forth between her brothers, and then she shrugged again, deciding that she didn't particularly want to get involved in this particular debate. "Mama, can I have some more cereal?"

"Albus, your brother's just teasing you," Ginny said placatingly before realising that Lily had asked her a question. "Hmm? Oh, yes, but only a little bit more - otherwise you won't be able to eat lunch."

"But what if I am?" if possible, Albus's eyes grew even larger and the horrified expression became comically prominent. "Dad! I won't be put in Slytherin will I? I won't, _I won't!_"

James snickered, taking a sip from his glass of orange juice.

Their parents exchanged an exasperated look. This was going to be a long day.

**xXxXx**

"I don't know which subjects to choose," Albus complained, eyes flickering through the list of pros and cons he had drawn up for the subjects he'd take in his third-year.

"I can't believe you actually did a pros-and-cons list," Rose sniffed, leaning over her cousin's shoulder. "And in what world does 'hot professor' qualify as a pro?"

Albus flushed. "Well, that was James's idea. He was helping - don't look at me."

Rose raised her eyebrows at James, who was lying sprawled on the common room sofa, arm casually slung over his girlfriend Olivia Finnegan's shoulders.

The boy snickered. "Hey, Al wanted help, I gave him help. And have you _seen_ Professor Bergman?"

Olivia slapped his knee, giving him a pointed look. "I'm still here, you know."

"I know, and I love you _so_ much," James replied sweetly. Olivia rolled her eyes and Rose snorted, but the former seemed mollified.

Albus's eyebrows were still creased worriedly. He leaned back into the armchair that he had been sitting in rigidly, chewing the tip of his pencil. "Rosie, what're you choosing?"

"Muggle Studies- _not_ because Professor Bergman is 'hot' -" Rose ignored her cousin Louis's muffled laugh from his seat at the foot of Emily Boot's chair - "Care of Magical Creatures... and... oh yes! And Ancient Runes."

"Sheesh, Rose, they only asked us to take two," Emily objected, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger. She directed her wand at the dying fire in front of them and muttered _Wingardium Leviosa_, causing some more pieces of wood to drift over and dump themselves suicidally into the fire.

Rose huffed and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Anyway, which subjects do you definitely_ not _want to take, Albus?"

"Arithmancy," Albus answered after some thought. He drew a wonky line through the name of the subject on his parchment.

"Don't take Ancient Runes either - the only people who take that are the loonies," James offered helpfully.

"Oh, shut up," Rose sighed, flopping down on top of Emily, her feet narrowly missing Louis's head.

"Rosie," Emily squeaked, attempting to push Rose off her, but to no avail.

"Okay, so no Arithmancy and no Ancient Runes... that leaves... Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination...," Albus said thoughtfully. Some more quill-in-finger turning as his eyes skimmed the list again. "Hmm... not Divination... I've got it! I'll take Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies."

James nodded approvingly at his younger brother. "Good choice, mate."

Albus glanced at his brother in faint surprise, a smile on his face. "Thanks."

**xXxXx**

"Mr. Potter!" Professor Morrissey's voice was sharp.

James looked up from his vandalisation of one of the Hogwarts's portraits - the owner of the portrait had wandered off to visit one of her friends and James hadn't wasted the opportunity to have some 'fun'.

"Hi, Professor!" James said cheerily, although he knew that he was in deep trouble. Especially when the Professor found out that he'd childishly written 'Slytherins Suck' in beige across the bottom of the green painting.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I fancied a midnight stroll," he smiled brightly at his teacher. The smile faded slowly as a thought occurred to him. "How did you know I was here?"

Only Albus, Rose and Olivia had known that he had gotten the bright idea to vandalise Hogwarts painting into his head. James had a sneaking suspicion he knew which one would have given it away.

"That's none of your business," Morrissey's tone was unforgiving, and he raised an eyebrow as if daring James to question further. "You're to serve two weeks of detention, and twenty points from Gryffindor -" James had moved slightly so that the writing on the portrait was now visible to his teacher's eyes - "wait... what is that written there, Mr. Potter?... make that _forty_ points from Gryffindor and three weeks of detention."

"It was Albus, wasn't it?" James pointedly ignored his punishment.

"As I've said before, that is really none of your concern."

"The little sneaky bas-"

"And another three points for language! Do you really want to make Gryffindor lose any more points, Potter? Now, go back to bed and we'll have a talk in the morning," Morrissey's words were final, and the professor swept away from James without so much as a glance backwards.

"Albus... ugh! You _bastard_!" James swore, kicking the wall fiercely and hurting his toe in the process.

**xXxXx**

"You _told_ her!"

"So? You'd never have gotten up the guts to ask her yourself!"

"That's none of your business!" Albus yelled back, fists clenched. His normally calm eyes were furious. The few remaining people in the corridor had diplomatically backtracked and left the two brothers to shout it out alone. Nobody wanted to get involved in a Potter argument.

James sighed, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "How're you going to find out if anything could happen with you and her if you don't do anything about it?"

"Well nothing was ever _going_ to happen! Nothing! Because, you know what? She doesn't see me that way and I _knew_ that!" Albus ground out. He sighed and leaned back against the corridor wall, feeling the cold stones press into his shirt.

"Al...," for once, James was at a loss for words. "I..."

"You didn't think?" Albus snorted bitterly, eyes closed as he tilted his head up towards the ceiling. "Well, doesn't _that_ sound familiar? Why're you always doing this to me? Why do you _always_ have to meddle in my life?"

James crossed his arms, eyes sharp. "Well, hang on a minute. You meddle in my life, too!"

"Not true," Albus retorted sharply, eyes still closed.

"Yes true! You're always telling on me to Mum and Dad and all the Professors! At least I'm trying to help you!"

Albus's eyes opened in disbelief. "You're trying to _help_ me? How is making fun of me and 'accidentally' burning up my homework _helping_?"

"Yeah, well, just because you're a smug git and get better grades than me doesn't mean you always have to shove your report under my nose!" James accused, brown eyes wide and irritated. He even stamped his foot (an action that he later regretted, partly because it was childish and partly because the stony floor hurt - even through his shoe).

"Huh," was all Albus could muster up to reply. They stared at each other in silence, brown eyes burning into green eyes, both as angry as the other.

After a few minutes, the corner of James's mouth twitched upwards. He forced his mouth back into its angry line. It worked for a few seconds, but then both corners of his mouth twitched upwards and he could see Albus's eyes crinkle slightly.

They continued to try and death-glare the other into submission, but each second that passed caused the situation to become more and more comical until eventually James couldn't hold it in anymore.

"I'm sorry!" he burst out amidst a fit of very unmanly giggles. He bent down so that his hands were on his knees as his body shook with laughter. "Al, I'm s-s... I'm sorry-y-y... I -" he heaved in a breath - "I'm sorry I told h-h-her."

Albus had his hand over his mouth to prevent laughter from escaping, evidently trying to remain the serious, mature one in the conversation. "I'm sorry, too... and I'll try not to... um... shove my good grades in your face... and, you know s'okay, about Becca... I mean... it's not okay because now she knows how I feel and... but... it's okay... I mean... well... you know what I mean."

James peered up at his brother through his glasses. "Seriously, though. I'll try not to meddle too much in your precious life."

Albus raised his eyebrows and swatted at James's head, though there was a smile on his face. "Well, I suppose I can't expect you to not make fun of me all of a sudden."

**xXxXx**

"James!" Albus hammered his fist against the door of the seventh-year boys' dormitory. "James! Unlock the door, goddamn it! Or I'll_ break_ the door!"

"Go away," Albus could just make out the muffled reply.

"No, I'm not going away until you open the door and let me in," Albus responded smartly, renewing his fist-against-door hammering. His knuckles were going to pay for this later, he could tell.

He heard a click as the door unlocked, and Albus promptly swung the door open and marched into the room. He flicked his wand and the door slammed shut behind him as he halted in front of James's bed.

The room stank. Of gone-off food, sweat, musty socks and a cheap deodorant that had evidently been used to try and cover up the smell. Albus's nose wrinkled in distaste.

"How do you _stand_ it in here?" he asked bemusedly. Then his eyes fell upon the shape in James's bed, covers tucked up to the older boy's neck so that only his messy black hair and forlorn eyes were visible. He wasn't even wearing his glasses (which surprised Albus as James was practically blind without them), and the look he gave Albus was a mixture of vexation and helplessness.

"Sweet _Merlin_, James," Albus crossed his arms and shot a disapproving look back at his brother. "What are you_ doing_?"

"I don't care," James's voice was miserable, and he flung his arm over his eyes dramatically. Even in a state of depression, James couldn't help but add a dramatic twist to his actions.

The younger Potter boy raised his eyebrows. "You've been in here since Friday night. Please don't tell me this is about Olivia."

They both knew what the answer was, of course. Olivia was probably the only person who could reduce James Potter to a bedridden dramatist. Besides Professor Bergman's detentions that is (echoes of James's 'I can't believe somebody so hot can be so cruel!' ring in Albus's mind), but that was another matter.

"James, you have to stop moping around and get _out_ of bed," Albus's voice was stern, reminiscent of Professor Morrissey's you-have-detention voice.

"I don't want to."

"I don't care if you _want _to or not, you're _going_ to," Albus informed his brother, plucking James's glasses up from the bedside table and handing them to him. James gave him a wounded look and Albus's voice softened minutely. "Look, I know that she hurt you and I know that you were together for two years -"

"Two and a half years," James corrected him petulantly.

"Yes, well... two and a half years... anyway... my point is that you shouldn't let something like this get you down... everybody has break-ups, James. Some people go out for eight years, ten years, twenty years and then they break up. It's life, and are you really going to let her ruin your week? She's already ruined your weekend, and there's only five more weeks left of school for you guys."

James stayed silent, although he did put his glasses on - which Albus supposed was something, at least.

"I know you, James," Albus continued, running a hand through his hair. "And you'll regret the fact that you've wasted this past weekend moping around when you could have been annoying Professor Morrissey or hitting on Professor Bergman."

"Yeah, probably," James smiled slightly at Albus's words, duvet still tucked up under his chin and glasses crooked on his face.

Albus sighed and leaned forward, hauling the duvet away from James. The other boy protested loudly at suddenly being derived of his source of comfort, only to be subdued by Albus's stern look.

"So, are you going to waste next week, too? Or are you going to get your arse out of bed and be your usual stupid self?" Albus queried, tilting his head to one side.

James sighed and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Fine, fine. I'm getting up. I'm going to be my usual 'stupid self', as you so charitably put it."

Albus nodded approvingly, handing his brother a pair of what he hoped were clean clothes. "Now get out of your pajamas... and... also, before you forget, clean up in here. It's disgusting, the way your dorm lives."

**xXxXx**

James chewed his fingernail thoughtfully, eyes skimming the pages of the newspaper he had laid out on the table. Footsteps sounded behind him and he felt his fiancee Renee's hand brush lightly across his shoulder blades as she leaned forward to give him a peck on the cheek.

"Good morning, my future husband," her lips curved into a smile against his cheek before she straightened and walked over to the stove to put the kettle on.

"Morning," James replied absentmindedly. His eyes flickered up and he watched as she made her way around the kitchen, preparing her breakfast.

She put the bread in the toaster and turned to face him, back leaning against the kitchen counter. "I was thinking about it last night, and I thought I'd like to have Lucy be my maid of honour."

"My cousin Lucy?" James queried, taking a bite of his toast. The smell of tea filled the air as Renee turned away and poured the hot water into the awaiting mug.

"No, Lucy from _I Love Lucy_," noticing James's confused expression, she sighed. "It's a Muggle thing. Anyway, yes, your cousin Lucy. You're okay with that right?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" James asked bewilderedly, looking up at her.

"I don't know, just checking," Renee shrugged, sipping her tea. "Do you know who you're going to choose as best man?"

James leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms out above his head. "Well, I'm thinking either Louis or Albus. Probably Albus."

Renee nodded. "Go for Albus. Louis can be ring-bearer."

James snorted at the image of burly Louis taking over the job that they'd planned to give to Victoire's little girl Gemma. "Yeah, great idea that one."

**xXxXx  
**

"I, James Sirius Potter, take thee Renee Leslie Morrissey to be my lawful wedded wife," James recited dutifully after the squat minister. He wasn't paying much attention to the words, too busy marvelling at the fact that he was actually going to be a _married_ man in only a few minutes. He hardly believed that he had an actual serious relationship with a woman, let alone that he'd be in a married relationship.

In the pews of the church, seated next to each other with the kind of comfort that one achieves after long friendship and many experiences, Ginny and Audrey gazed up at the soon-to-be-newlyweds. Ginny had a broad smile on her face and Audrey had tears in the corners of her eyes, but as Albus handed James the ring (Louis had ended up being best man and Albus had instead been bestowed the position of ring-bearer), Audrey leaned over towards the red-headed woman.

"Look at Al - I swear I've never seen the boy smile so much. I don't know what he'll be like at his own wedding," Audrey murmured, dabbing at the corners of her eyes daintily with her handkerchief.

Ginny snorted at the other woman, but her eyes were soft. When she didn't say anything, Audrey continued in a low voice. "I actually didn't expect to James to make Albus have a big part in the ceremony. I didn't think they were that close."

"Oh, they are. They've had their ups and downs like all siblings, but James adores Albus. Even if he doesn't like to show it," Ginny smiled fondly at her two boys, feeling her own eyes grow faintly misty.

"True...," Audrey mused, as though recalling memories of the boys' childhoods. "Although... I do remember them doing some pretty nasty things to each other not even so long ago."

Ginny muffled a laugh. "Yes, well... I think they're fine now."


End file.
